Feed the world with Genetically Modified foods? The French Minister for Agriculture is preparing a new law to prevent GM crops in France as the European Court of Justice has questioned the health-risk basis of current French laws against GM. It probably suits GM patenters to keep the battle on this footing as a decoy because the major danger lies elsewhere - in loss of productive land tenure. In the US, meanwhile, the Public Patent Foundation (PUBPAT) has filed suit against Monsanto Company to challenge the chemical giant’s patents on genetically modified seed. The organic plaintiffs were forced to sue preemptively to protect themselves from being accused of patent infringement should they ever become contaminated by Monsanto’s genetically modified seed, something Monsanto has done to others in the past. See film on-line inside.

Article by Toni Recsei: Citizens in Australia’s major cities are becoming increasingly unhappy about what they perceive as the escalating deterioration in their quality of life - traffic congestion, overloaded public transport, unaffordable housing for young people, increases in the costs of basic services and overcrowding. There is little doubt that recent election results and unfavourable opinion polls are partly an expression of this dissatisfaction. (Article first published on On-Line Opinion, where you may also currently make comments.)

(Original title of this article was Australians let us all regret what is happening to land around Melbourne.) The second verse of Australia's national anthem speaks of infinite availability of land. To the well meaning composer and author of the lyrics, this may have seemed true in the nineteenth century but now it is a different story. which would be much harder set to poetry and music.

The recent Repco Rally was so bad it turned Tweed Valley banana farmer/GP into a No Rally Group member. Here is her submission for the Review of the Motor Sports (WRC) Bill 2009. Anyone who accuses protestors of being 'green, hippie tree-huggers' should read this highly intelligent and shocking account of what happened on her street during the rally. Many anti-rally protesters are professionals just like her (teachers, writers, business people, film makers, artists, farmers, politicians) and their voices need to be heard.